Acetylene-gas generator.



No. 678,375. Patented July I6, l90l. A. M. CAREY.

ACETYLENE GAS GENERATUB.

(Application med m. 26, 1699.)

(l0 Indel.)

2 Sheets-Sheet I.

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UNITEp STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR MACLEOD CAREY, OF MIDDLESBROUGH, ENGLAND.

ACETYLENE-GAS GENERATOR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 678,375, dated. July 16, 1901.

Application iiled December 26, 1899. Serial No. 741,625. (N0 model- To all whom, it may concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR MACLOD CAREY, engineer, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain and Ireland, residing at Shirley Villa, North Ormesby, Middlesbrough, in the county of York, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Acetylene-Gas Apparatus, (for which I have made application for patent in Great Britain, No. 15,413, dated June 19, 1899;) and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such' as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the saine.

My invention consists, essentially, of a case or tube of brass or other suitable material, divided into two chambers, the lower of which contains the cartridge of calcium carbid andl the upper the water to be admitted to the calcium carbid in the Ysaid cartridge for generating acetylene gas, the flow of the water from the said water-chamber being regulated by a pin-valve opening and closing between the water and the carbid.

The handle-bars of the cycle are made of steel tubing, the usual open ends of *which are blocked or sealed gas-tight, the said handle-bars being formed integral with a second tube adapted to receive the above containingtube and fit into the steering-tube of the cycle and be therein fixed, the gas as generated in the cartridge passing into the inner case or tube and from this into the outer case and from the said outer case into the handle-bars, from which it cannot escape except through a burner provided upon the front of the handle-bars and governed by a pin-valve in reach of the rider, the said burnerY being provided with a suitable reiiecting-lam'p. A

In order that my said invention and vthe manner of its application and use maybe fully understood, Ivhave hereunto appended two sheetsof drawings, of which planview of the upper end of Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a side elevation of Fig. 4 with the lamp in position upon the burner. Figs. 7 and 8, Sheet 2, are front elevation and plan, respectively, of the steering-head of a cycle embodying my invention, Fig. 9 being a sectional view of one of the ends of the handle-bars shown in Fig. 7.

Similar letters of reference are used throughout the drawings when referring to the same or like parts.

In carrying my invention into effect I provide of steel or other metal an outer tubular case A, the lower end of which is blocked gastight at B, while its upper end is brazed or otherwise connected to or arranged to provide the handle-bars C and C of the machine, these being made of stout steel with their ends C blocked gas-tight, as shown in Fig. 9, the said ends being inclosed by handles D in the usual way. Thetube A is adapted for insertion within the upper end of the steeringtube of the machine and to be fixed therein by the drawing together of the divided end of the latter in the usual way.

Within the tube A is placed an inner tube E, of slightly less cross-sectional diameter than A, so that a very slight space exists between A and E when the latter is fixed in position, this being conveniently effected by reason of a male thread formed upon the upper end of Ev engaging with a female thread within the upper end of A, as shown at a in Fig. 4. The ends of the tube E are both open, the upper being closed by a plug F, adapted to screw thereinto and make a firm gas-tight joint therewith, the said plug having acentral bore for the admission of a rod G, the upper end of which is provided with a handle or finger-hold H for rotating the same, while its lower end is tapered andv enters a tapered or other hole-c ina water-tight diaphragm J, formed within and centrally or thereabout of the length of E, the said diaphragm having an internally-threaded central boss K, with which engages an external or male thread d, formed upon the lower end of the rod G, the pitch of the said thread being such that a three-quarter turn or thereabout of the rod G (or such as represents the travel of the handle of linger-hold H between the studs b b of the plug-cap F, Figs. 5 andl 8) will be ample to cause the coned lower IOO lower end of the said cartridge being closed.

by a preferably-nerforated disk f, Fig. 3,

from which to its upper end extends a cen' tral tube N, which may be constructed of perforated metal or be provided with any number of holes, such as g. In the lower end of the said cartridge I provide a washer h, of felt or other equally absorbent material, and from this into the upper end I pack the said cartridge with broken carbid of calcium P, the upper surface of this being covered by a like felt or other washer j, the latter serving to prevent the broken calcium from falling out should the cartridge be inverted or laid down.

The lower surface of the diaphragm .I in E is provided with a depending tapered hollow nosing 7c, the hollow interior of which communicates with and forms a downward continuation of the tapered or coned hole c in J, the said nosing being of such length as to enter into the upper end of the perforated tube N of the cartridge when the latter is placed in position in the lower end of the tube E, as shown in Fig. ft. The cartridge would be retained in position within the tube E by the means of a perforated grooved plug m, as shown in the same figure.

VThe interior of the upper end of the outer tube A communicates with the interior of the handle-bars C C by the means of a small passage n, Fig. 6, while upon the outer vertical face of the center collar P', embracing the two said handles, is mounted and xed the burner R, the interior of which communicates with the interior of C by a small gas-passagep,`

Fig. 6. The said burner is composed of a hollow body r, the lower end of which converges into or has attached thereto a tube s, which is bent or curved until the nipple end s enters 'a hole in the lower surface of a suitable lamp S, when this is mounted upon a holder t therefor, provided upon the front of the body r. The upper end of the body r is opened and receives a rod t', provided with a milled head o or other handle, by which it may be rotated, the said rod t passing through a suitable gland w and has a screwthread formed therein, which engages with a femaleevars valve within easy reach of the rider and governing the flow of gas to the nipple s'.

The manner of operation is as follows: The cartridge having been placed in position within the inner tube E and the handle H placed so that its rod G has closed down the aperture c, the chamber formed by the upper portion of the tube E would be charged with water through an aperture T, provided in the screw-plug F, which may then be closed by a pivoted cover V. To generate the gas, the handle I-I and rod G would be rotated in the direction that would raise the latter in the boss 7L until the water in E trickles down through the nosing k into and down the perforated tube N through the holes g, in which it would percolate to the calcium carbid P, when the generation of gas would immediately ensue, and this as generating would exude through perforations or holes W in the cartridge-case M or through the perforated bottom of M and the plug fm, or both, into the lower end of the tube E and through apertures y in the latter into the tube A 'and by rising in A would pass through the aperture n into the handle-bars C C, from which it would be admitted to the nipple sof the burner by opening the passage through the burner by rotating the head o' and raising the rod From the foregoing it will be understood that the generation of gas is regulated by the quantity of water allowed to trickle through the passage lc', this being governed by the handle H under control of the rider, who'when he or she finds the light too bright may en-A tirely or partly close the water-passage c 76, thereby keeping the generation of gas entirely under the control of the handle H, while the amount of gas admitted to the burner and the extent of the flame is entirely controlled by the head U and its rod t'.

It is obvious that the tubes A and E may be extended or diminished in length to accommodate the acceptance of cartridges of varying lengths and that the length of such cartridge, and consequently its holding capacity for carbid, would govern the life of the light, and it will be further understood that by closing the water-passage c 7c gas generation would cease and that by closing the gaspassage in the burner by screwing down the rod t' the lamp maybe extinguished.

What I claim, and desire to secure by Let ters Patent, is-

1. In an improved acetylene-gas generator and burner for cycles the combination of a perforated cartridge M, for containing carbid of calcium P, and a perforated tube N passing through the said cartridge, the said cartridge being inclosed within a perforated tube E, having a central diaphragm J for forming a water-chamber charged through an aperture T in a plug F closing the upper end of IOO IIO

the tube-E, the said diaphragm having a censtems a handle H, the water passage being the means by which water is admitted to the carbid P, the gas as generated thereby passing out of M into E, and from E into an outer tube A concealed within the steering-tube of the cycle," the said tube A communicating with and carrying the handle-bars C C acting as reservoirs for the gas substantially as here'- in set forth and shown by the drawings.

-2. The combination with hollow handlebars of a cycle, and the steering-tube, of a case A itting within the steering-tube and a gaspassage providing communication between the interior of the case A and that of the handle-bars, a tube E arranged within` the case A and being of such diameter as to leave a space'between it and the case, a plug rotatably mounted in the upper end of the tube, a perforated diaphragm dividing the tube into two chambers, means controlled by the rotation of the plug to govern communication between the two chambers of the tube, that l 

